Cloudy Days
by Hanamaruko
Summary: Eight years after Tsuna is proclaimed Vongola Decimo, he orders to the Varia to finally replace their Cloud guardian. Xanxus finds the perfect candidate and refuses to take no for answer. Knowing that the Cloud user wants nothing to do with the mafia, he orders Squalo and Lussuria to kidnap the new member of the Varia. Life for the Cloud user takes an unexpected turn. Squalo x OC
1. Chapter 1: So It Begins

**Author's Note: Welcome my dear readers to my first published story. Please be gentle with me (bows). I was always fascinated with the Varia from KHR and wanted to write a story about what life would be like in the organization. My story will be a bit more realistic and from an adult's perspective rather than the kid friendly version of KHR. I always thought the series was better suited for adult audiences than for children. I've just tweaked things, so it works from that perspective. Reviews are encouraged! Tell me what you like and dislike. I also wanted to note that Lussuria does use Japanese terminology like -chan. It just seemed to work for his character, and I'm keeping it. I admit that I'm a very ADD and sporadic author. If you let me know you like it, I'll be more likely to update it more quickly. **

**Much love,**

**Hanamaruko**

* * *

There are times in your life where you really don't see things coming your way. I didn't expect what was about to happen nor the crazy world I would be thrust in. That said, I wouldn't do anything over again. This new world is much too amusing for me to walk away from. The best things always happen unexpectedly.

Let me explain myself. I was always the type of person to wander from place to place and do things on my own. I never really had a place I would call home. To me, home was wherever the people I cared about were. If you asked my parents where I was, they would just shrug their shoulders and say, "she'll come back when she feels like it". My dad always said I was like the wind, I could never stay in one place and no one could ever hold onto me. It wasn't like I tried to be that way; it's just the way I always was. Sometimes I would attribute it to the boredom that often plagued me, but the reality was that I just didn't feel connected to the world around me. Scratch that, it wasn't the world I felt disconnected from, it was the people. You see, I have extenuating circumstances that always made things really awkward for me around other people. Instead of being concerned with high school romances and friendships, I was more interested in developing my weapons skills and figuring out this weird "ability" I had.

In all honesty I can say I have always been a strange child. At a young age I started having weird dreams and believed I could fly. Sounds pretty normal so far right? Just wait, I decided to jump off of ladders to test my flying skills. As suspected I crashed the first few times. After more practice I began softly landing on my feet; then I ended up hovering in the air. It was at this time that my mom walked in and branded me a devil child. In my childish mind, I didn't see anything wrong with the situation. As a kid they tell you anything is possible. Anyway, back to the main story, my mom starting freaking out and told my dad. He labeled her crazy until he walked in on me hovering in my room seven months later making little glowing purple balls in my hands. He took it better than I thought he would. After sweating profusely and rubbing his eyes, he turned to me and smiled. My dad walked over and patted me on the head. He said, "that's pretty cool there little one. Where did you learn how to do that?" All I remember after that is about blabbing on and on about how I was now almost as cool as Batman. After I had gone on in my hyper ramble, he told me to never show anyone else what I could do but him. And to never ever, ever do anything like that in public.

About a week after that my dad sat my mom and I down for a talk. Apparently my dad had connections to the Italian mafia, surprise mom! I knew that my dad was a doctor but I never knew he was so awesome. Instantly Batman went down on the cool scale and daddy went a peg up. Touché Batman, my dad is now my hero! My mom was horrified, because my dad had kept this information from her. But wait! Her discomfort did not end there. My dad said that people have things called flames, but only a small percentage of the population is able to access them and use them. The mafia is one of the largest organizations that recognizes these flames and uses them. Apparently my devil child antics were just me using my flame. Scratch that, apparently I was able to use more than one flame. Seeing as that I was something like a prodigy, pshhh whatever that meant. I was more concerned with trying to itch my waterlogged ears (don't judge me, it was the end of summer and I swam all the time plus I had eczema in my ears from allergies). Anyway "prodigy" blah blah blah, "don't want you to be involved with the mafia… they'll try and take you away…" blah blah blah. All I really took from the conversation was that we were going to keep my abilities a secret so that I could lead as normal as a life as possible. Dad decided we were going to move and reduce our ties with the mafia. Apparently, he had a good relationship with the head of the Vongola family and previously talked about lessening his connection to the mafia ever since I was conceived. They worked something out to where my dad went into "mafia retirement", and he was able to only discretely see cases that the Ninth head of the Vongola referred to him.

Dad was quickly forgotten in the mafia world, and he trained me on the basics of weaponry and hand to hand combat. After seeing that I was talented and obsessed with swords, he used his connections to have different associates train me. One of my favorite teachers was this old bastard called "The Sword Emperor". Tyr was grumpy and took no shit from anyone. He treated me like a mangy dog, but I really didn't care. Dude had awesome skills. Tyr only came around when he felt like it, and he left pretty soon after. Once I hit puberty and grew breasts (surprise! I have XX chromosomes. You thought I was a dude didn't you?), he became even more mean and sadistic. Cramps were not a legitimate excuse to not perform to his standards. At some point this pissed me off and I flew into a blood rage. I don't remember much of it, but after that Tyr actually waited for the pain killers to kick in and for me to wrap my breasts (such is plight of the big breasted swordswoman). He was also missing an arm after that. When I asked him what happened, he just looked at me strangely. I seriously don't know what that was all about.

Anyway a few years later, some douchebag decided to "off" Tyr. I mean I didn't really mind the whole idea of him being dead; I just thought he could still be useful. I was still learning how to counteract his new one-handed style. I was creating my own style in response to it. Once I felt that Tyr had over stayed his usefulness I was going to off him myself. Did I mention that he was a mean bastard? Yeah, no tears from me over his death. Said douchebag was apparently on a quest to fight all the best swordspeople (I'm a chick; I want to emphasize not all swordsman are dudes) in the world. As I was Tyr's only quasi-apprentice I was potentially on that list. I like fighting and I love swords, but I am in no rush to get myself killed. Seeing as someone was crazy enough to fight and win against Tyr, I didn't want to get involved in that nonsense.

I was still going to a normal school and had a normal life outside of the mafia. After the Tyr incident, I separated myself completely from the mafia. We moved once again and I was able to complete high school relatively unscathed under a new alias. Knowing that I could be a potential liability to my family, I finished high school a year and a half early. I began wandering around the globe and got my college education through several universities and online classes. Just because I act like a travelling gypsy, does not mean that I don't recognize the importance of an education. My dad was a doctor for goodness sake. He would have killed me if I further my education. Even with my degrees I just would go from job to job and country to country. Sometimes I would work in the business sector and other times I wait tables at a restaurant. I just did whatever I felt like doing.

I spent the majority of my time between America, the UK, and Japan. I have a grandmother of Japanese descent, so I was somewhat familiar with the culture. Growing up I could carry on a basic conversation, but the two years I lived there really improved my Japanese. I enjoyed living there, but I always missed living in Italy. My parents ended up retiring and spent their time between America and Italy. I would try to visit them at least once every year. One time it had almost been three years and I heard an earful from my father. I didn't want a repeat of that again.

Even with all the moving, I always returned to Eastern Europe. Prague became a favorite city of mine, and I could never get enough of it. It was during one of my stays in Prague that trouble came to me. I was living in an old industrial complex in one of the less glamorous parts of town. Using some negation skills, I was able to have the building converted for me. The bottom levels of the building remained relatively bare and were just open spaces supported by cement blocks and pillars. The upper two levels were my living quarters. Most people might have been freaked out by the empty and abandoned looking lower levels, but I found them perfect for training. I spent the majority of my time there and had come to love the place.

The incident happened on a rainy Friday evening. I had been training a new technique with my Cloud and Mist flames that allowed me to multiply objects and project a portion of my consciousness into them. You are going, "Oh wow, she can use Mist flames! So cool!" No not really. I suck at Mist flames. I have very little aptitude for them, but I see how combing them with other flames can be useful. I can honestly say that out of the flames, Mist flames are the bane of my existence. Not being naturally gifted in that area pisses me off, and therefore I practice using them on a regular basis. After ten years, I still couldn't do much but I could slightly alter reality. In your face bitches, the turtle eventually wins against the hare.

So it was while I was doing this new technique that I became overly tired and less in-tuned with my surroundings. I was minding my own business when a pair of hands grabbed me and a streak of silver flashed across from me. A large glass bottle was shoved into my mouth and a disgusting light brown liquid was poured down my throat. Don't judge me for not fighting back. Who expects that sort of thing, and I was really tired. Not thinking, I swallowed the liquid. It didn't really taste like anything, but it had a slightly bitter aftertaste. Within seconds, I fell to the floor almost entirely unconscious. I really had no clue what the heck was going on. Passing in and out of consciousness, I heard a feminine male voice talking.

"If I hadn't seen her using it, I wouldn't have believed it was her. She's just too pretty to have been Tyr's protégé. I can't wait to take her back to the castle; it'll be so good to have another woman around to talk to. With that figure of hers, I'll be able to dress her up into so many cute things! Isn't she's gorgeous Squalo? We'll have to keep the boss from scaring her skin. Squalo? Hey Squalo, aren't you listening?! I'm talking to you, you know. Oh…. I seeeeee. You're blushing Squa-chan. So she's your type huh? Someone has a crush on the new girl!" said the man is a singsong voice.

The other man, who I assumed was Squalo, grunted and moved closer to me. From my sprawled out position on the floor, I could grab his ankle with my left hand. Gathering some flames into my hands, I decided he was going to be my next guinea pig. At this point, it was would be pointless to try and fight them off. It would just piss them off and give them a reason to attack me. So far they had made no move to physically harm me. If they wanted me dead, I would already be dead. Obviously, they wanted something else from me. I decided that this man would be the first one I used my new technique on. Transferring my remaining consciousness and infecting him with Cloud flames, I decided I would try gain information to him. Sending my flames up from his ankle, he began to shake and tremble. Shortly thereafter, he fell to the floor right beside me. As he hit the ground I lost consciousness.

I have no clue how long I was out. The next thing I remember is waking up in a male body. Across from me laid my body in the back of a red sports car. A very loud and obviously gay man was yelling from the front seat.

"Squalo, make sure she's in a comfortable position. We don't want her to wake up all stiff and sore. She's already not going to feel well after that sleeping tonic we gave her."

"Voiiii," shouted the man I was currently taking residence in, "that'll be last thing on her mind. She's not going to be happy that she was kidnapped and taken to the Boss."

"Well there is that," replied the man in the driver's seat. "Why don't you put her head on your lap instead of her feet? I bet she'd feel more comfortable."

Looking into the rearview mirror, I could see the man with the green and orange Mohawk smirking. The man that I was in grunted and muttered under his breath. It was something along the lines of, "that flaming peacock is getting way too much enjoyment out of this." Squalo turned to me and grabbed me by the waist and awkwardly turned me around.

"Fine," he said as he out my head on his lap. Glancing up, Squalo looked once again at the other man in the rearview mirror.

"Shut up, Lussuria! Stop laughing."

The man had a huge grin plastered over his face. "Mahh, Squa-chan, I'm not laughing at you. It's just so cute and heart warming."

The man I was in quickly went quiet. After a few seconds, he responded to the man named Lussuria. "Say another word about this and I will kill you," replied Squalo in an icy tone. Lussuria darted his eyes to my body and then Squalo. Not saying a word, he nodded and went back to looking at the road. After a few minutes of silence, Squalo returned to staring at me. "Hmmm…" he said under his breath. Squalo reached out his hand and began to slowly stroke my hair. It appears that my consciousness was still somewhat connected to my body. I have always found that having my hair stroked is very relaxing and comforting. It didn't take long for me to go to sleep.

The next time I awoke, I was in a dark room. I was sleeping on something soft and warm. Opening my eyes, I slowly adjusted to the dim light filtering through the curtains. No, these weren't window curtains; these were heavy velvet drapes that surrounded a bed. Looking around, I saw that I was under a maroon and gold blanket. The curtains surrounding me were the same red color. Looking at my hands and checking out my body, I concluded that I was in fact in my own body. Apparently, my experiment with Squalo had been a near failure. I would have to work on that. It was after my inner ramblings that I noticed how badly I was hurting. My neck and back felt like I had been sleeping upright on moving horse. The rest of my body just felt like I had been hit by a rather large truck. Neither of those seemed like the likely source of my pain. I attributed it to the mishandling of my body during my kidnapping.

I really didn't want to move. That said, I had no intention of staying around. If I found any opportunity to escape I would take it. I started moving and edging over to the side of the bed. Peeking through the curtains, I was able to see a large banquette of windows. I peaked further out of the curtains and saw no one around me. Slowly and quietly I stepped down from the gigantic bed and planned my escape. From what I could see through the fading twilight, I was in a large and ostentatious bedroom. I saw two doors that lead to my potential salvation or demise. I didn't like the second of those options, so I choose another path. To the windows I go! Finding the latch to one of the large windows, I opened it carefully and looked at the ground below. I was at least three stories high in a very large building. Seeing no one around, I did one of the things I enjoy the most. I jumped down to the ground. One good thing about refining my Cloud flames is that I am able to control my movements in the air and decelerate before I hit the ground. A slight bend of the knee and we have a gentle landing! Eyeing a large grove of trees, I decided that would be my first destination. I really needed a piss break.

After I had finished my business, I ended up looking for a path away from the monstrous looking castle that I had been in. My destination was the opposite way of the building. Running away quickly, I managed to get a good distance between myself and the building. It was when I was finally giving myself a little internal victory speech that I noticed how quiet it had suddenly gotten. The trees seemed too still and no animals were heard. A whooshing sound came from behind me. I was able to jump out of the way as a barrage of knives came at me.

"Sempai, you missed. You can't see can you? I told you that your hair should be cut."

"Ushishishi, shut up Flan. It seems like this peasant has some skill."

"Are you sure sempai? It just like your old age is catching up to you. You are really past your prime. Don't you think it's about time you retire?"

"Shut up Flan! I'll make you into a stuffed frog."

Using their bickering to my advantage, I assessed the situation. The frog hooded kid named Flan seemed to be content to watch the other do all the work. The blonde haired male wearing a tiara was the knife wielder. Looking closely at the knives, I was able to see a slight gleam come from their handles. It was only because of the exact position the setting sun was in that I spotted the wires connecting the knives to the blonde man. How lucky is it that he uses metal wires? Metal acts as a great conductor to lightning. Setting an electric charge in my hands, I grabbed onto the knives. "Fshhhhhshhh" could be heard as the knife wielder collapsed twitching on the ground.

"Hey sempai, are you ok? You're looking a little fried." All that could be heard was an "ughhhnnn" sound as the man's head hit the ground.

"So," I said as I changed my flames into a sharpened edge and cut through the wires, "I'm not interested in picking fights I don't have to. If you agree not to come after me, I'll leave you alone. You can tell your superior that I got away after electrocuting you and your sempai over there," I said as I pointed with a handful of knives.

"Hmmmmm, the boss will be mad if we let you get away, but he can't really do anything to me since I was only supposed to assist. You better go before the others find you. They won't be as willing to negotiate."

I slightly nodded my head, backed away, and jumped into the trees. I would have to be more cautious and get out of here as quickly as I possibly can. I had been able to retrieve a little over a dozen knives. They were sharp and well made, but they weren't the most ideal weapon for my situation. My knife skills were not nearly as good as my sword skills, because they required a closer proximity for their usage. I could certainly handle myself with them, but they made me somewhat uncomfortable. Because of my cautious nature, I preferred the distance a sword gave me. I could certainly throw them at the enemy, but that would quickly deplete them. Ugh, I really didn't want to kill someone unless I really have to. It would be so messy and take up valuable time.

Running further into the woods, I was able to go ten minutes without incident. It was as I was about to pass through a slight clearing that I heard a familiar "Vooooiiii".

"Voooooiiiiii, find the woman and bring her to me before boss the finds her. He's pissed that she escaped."

An unfortunate looking man with facial piercings and umbrellas sticking out from his back ran into the clearing. "Captain Squalo! Belphegor and Flan have been defeated. They were guarding the west sector when they were taken out. They have been taken to the hospital wing."

"Damn it! Voooooiii, get a move on and find her. Boss is going to be seriously angry."

"Yes, sir," said a group of men with a rain symbol on their clothing.

"Levi take your troops further ahead to the west. See if you can cut her off there."

"Yes, Captain Squalo," he answered as he ran away.

"_Hmmm…_" I thought as Levi and the Rain Troops went away. "_That guy seems to be higher up in the organization. He seems pretty confident to send out the other troops and not have any back up. They'll most likely come back to him to report and get more orders; but if I can get in front of the area he is guarding, I have a good chance of getting out of here._" I decided to follow the captain until I was able to pass him. I needed to get an idea of how large the area was that he was guarding and how far they thought I had possibly gone. The plan seemed to be working until Levi came running back and hit the tree I was in.

"Squalo," he yelled as he came running towards us. "The boss is throwing a fit! One of the servers dropped his filet mignon. They asked the kitchen to make some more, but they're out. They won't get a shipment in until the morning."

"Shit!", yelled Squalo. "The boss will try to kill us all. Send some underlings out the nearest open market that carries it."

"By the time they come back," said Levi, "it will already be morning".

Squalo froze and tension could be seen throughout his body. All was silent until a loud "Voooooiiiiiii!" rang through out the forest.

That's when Levi really started to panic and ran into my tree. "We're all going to die! The boss he'll hate us!" "Wham!" he went into the tree.

Squalo turned to look as I lost my balance and fell behind Levi. His eyes went wide as he saw me. Just as he was about to speak, I threw one of my knives at him and hit Levi in the balls. How did I do this you ask? First, grab onto a knife as you are falling out of a tree. Before you hit the ground, throw the knife towards the forward facing opponent. Once you hit the ground, take advantage of the opponent whose back is towards you. Seeing open legs, lift up your foot and slam your leg into the groin. Now you know how to do it. Levi fell to the ground and howled in pain. As he was on his knees clutching his family jewels, I gave him a solid roundhouse kick to the face. A sickening crunching sound could be heard as his nose obviously broke. It was clear that the kick had also knocked him unconscious.

As Levi slumped awkwardly to the ground, I was able to finally get a good look at Captain Kidnapper Squalo. I was slightly shocked at how good looking he really was; I mean I had seen a little of him when they gave me the drug, but he was really good looking! Alright, I admit it. I have a fetish for long, well taken care of hair. It was so long, and glossy, and shimmery, oh my! I was having a hard time deciding what color it really was. Is it gray? Silver? White with a grayish tint? I really couldn't decide. It was then that Squalo addressed me.

"Woman, what are you staring at?"

Immediately I responded, "Your hair. It looks very well taken care of. What color is it by the way?"

That was when he took his hand off of his bleeding upper arm (caused by yours truly) and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Voooiii, woman. You've caused a lot of trouble for me. Come back with me to the castle, and it'll save me some time calming down the boss."

"Ummmm….. no," I replied, "you do realize that you kidnapped me. That sorta makes a person not want to go with you."

"Uggghhhhnnnn," sighed Squalo. "If you had just stayed in the room, this would have been so much easier. Please come back and the boss will explain everything to you."

"You see I'm doing this thing called escaping. It's where you run away from danger. So your answer is no."

"Voooooiiii woman, I really don't want to do this but you leave me no choice," he said as he pulled up his spatha.

Me + 14 knives + no sword = having to resort to less than desirable measures. No I'm not talking about stripping; get that out of your head. "Sorry dear," I said as I began to crouch low to the ground, "don't be mad at me. You're literally armed with a sword (get the pun? Hahaha). A girl's gotta do, what a girl's gotta do." I put my hands in the Goku power ball position as I brought them up from the ground. Squalo was staring wondering what I was about to do, as I kicked a large amount of dirt and debris in his face.

"Vooooiiii," he yelled. His distraction left him open for an attack. Concentrating on creating a negative flame, I grabbed his sword with my hand. Now kids this not something you should try at home. It is very dangerous and will likely leave you with no hands. The only reason I could do it is because the flame can protect the person using them. His sword turned into a block of ice. Squalo turned and stared at me with a mystified expression on his face. His grey eyes were wide and went from staring at his sword and back to me. "Woman, where did you learn how to do that?" he asked incredulously. I gave him a nice smirk as I came around and gave him an uppercut to the face. Squalo snapped out of his daze with a rather angry looking jaw and a bleeding lip. "Vooooooiiiiii! What was that for?"

"I don't know… MAYBE KIDNAPPING ME!" Sticking out my tongue, I backed away from him and attempted to continue my escape.

"Come back here! Woman don't you run away from me!" Thus began an episode of Tom and Jerry between myself and Squalo. It involved me running away, hiding, and successfully tripping him all while he was trying to capture me. After we had both gotten somewhat out of breath, we stopped running and continuing our arguing.

"Nice legs you have there Rapunzel. I didn't think someone who spent so much time on her hair would be able to keep up."

"Vooooiiiii! I'm no woman!"

"I'm not convinced. Your hair has too much body in it for any man. You use extra hair products. I bet you use mousse!"

"Voooiiii! Who would use that crap!"

"Ahhhhh! Squalo, there you are!" said Lussuria. "We've been looking for you for the past half hour! Squa-chan why do you look like you've been rolling around on the ground? You look ghastly!"

"Lussuria,"said Squalo in a low and drawn out voice, "what do you think I've been doing?"

"Ah! I see! It's good to see you up Cloud-chan. You shouldn't have run away! The boss is very mad that he had to go looking for you himself. He also didn't get to eat his favorite meal, so he's in a very bad mood right now. You're probably hungry and can use a bath right? Come over here and Mama Lussuria will take care of everything for you. What's your favorite thing to eat? I'll make it for you."

At this point, Squalo and I were both crouching with our hands on knees trying to regulate our breathing. I exchanged a "what the f&*$" look with Squalo who just nodded in return. Raising my eyebrow, Squalo returned my gaze and nodded even more vigorously. This was normal behavior for this individual? Kidnapper number two had a mothering complex? This was just a bit too odd for me to process. Are the playing good cop and bad cop? Is this some sort of technique to break me down, so I will go back to the castle? I really don't get this. Just as Squalo and I were about to once again engage in conversation, a loud crashing was heard in front of us. A large glowing lion stepped out in front of us.

"What the hell? Why is there a lion here, and why is it glowing? Where the hell did you take me to?"

"Good Bester," said a man as he walked out from behind the lion. "Good work on finding them," he said as threw the lion a raw piece of meat. At this point I was thoroughly freaked out. This isn't normal even for the mafia. "Oi, trash," said the man staring at Squalo. "You better have a damn good reason for making me come out here to find you."

Squalo cringed and looked slightly uncomfortable. "Boss I was just trying to get her."

"Is that the girl?" he said looking over at me.

"Yes," piped in Lussuria, "she's rather lively. She'll make a great addition to our team." Pausing a second and looking between us, Lussuria took notice of Squalo's arm. "Squa-chan! Why is your arm frozen?"

"She did it," said Squalo rising up from his crouching position and pointing a finger at me.

As he said this, I was trying to process what the hell was going on. A fucking lion? It looks angry too. And that scarred boss guy looks tough. Shit! This is why you need Mist flames. Putting my hands behind my back, I went with the only possible option I had to get away from these dangerous people. I created a bomb on both hands of Cloud and Storm flames. The Cloud flames enhance the destructiveness of the Storm flames. It seems that the scary dude noticed that something was going on.

"What do you think you are doing trash?" he asked.

Smiling I held the bombs behind my back in the air and brought my hands forward. "What do you mean?" I asked innocently. Squalo gave me a look that was clearly suspicious. It seems he was wisening up to my antics. "Wh-what, what is that?" I stuttered pointed in the air with panic in my voice. The three idiots took the bait and looked up. _"Yessss!" _went my mental happy dance._ "I can get out of here!"_ I threw one bomb out from behind me at their feet. The sudden explosion caused them to fall back for cover as I ran the hell away. I took the second bomb and spread it out using my Cloud flames. It would decrease the strength of the attack, but it would act as a sort of wall that would slow them down and alert me of their progress.

I was able to run unharmed, but it wasn't long until I heard tiny recurring explosions. Cursing and shouting could be heard. It sounded like they were gaining on me, so I made the choice to hide. The strain of using my flames after my body was already in bad shape was running me down. I found a little nook that was caused by a large tree's roots and a small rocky outcrop. I wiggled my way into the open space and drew back from the entrance. I calmed my breathing and began to wait.


	2. Chapter 2: Mock Obedience

Some people would call hiding from your attackers cowardly or humiliating. I call it smart. This wasn't a one-on-one fight that would make me follow the bushido. No, this was clearly a case of fully grown psychopaths ganging up on a lone woman. If hiding was the best chance of me escaping, I would do it. I wasn't suicidal, and I damn well had no intention of going to an early death. Death had lost its romantic edge a long time ago. I had seen people die and wasn't naïve to the horrors it entailed. After having a few close calls myself, I wound up with a strong will to live. Even if there is an after life or a life beyond the grave, it still isn't the life you are currently living. There is no assurance that suddenly everything is better and you have no regrets. Once you're dead, you're dead. There's no turning back. Game over. The end. Nothing pissed me off more than seeing people give up on life. Shit, I had thought of it myself over the years and very well considered ending it. That was until I had felt the hands of death on me and felt my life be sapped away. It's traumatizing and frightening, and it makes you truly realize that you leave this world alone. There's no way that I would willing chase death. I didn't think that was cowardly, to me it was the sane and pragmatic choice. I would fight if necessary and run if I could. Life isn't always a practice session in kendo. Sometimes you end up fighting with real swords against blood thirsty opponents with every intention of killing you (i.e. Tyr). Avoid that shit if you necessary. Play with fire too much and you will get burned.

It was while I was enjoying my inner monologue that I noticed a shadow and set of paws go in front of the entrance to my hiding place. I stayed still and slowed my breathing. I gripped some of the knives I had gotten and prepared myself. Or at least, I thought I had prepared myself. A sudden crash through the rocky outcrop caused the rock and debris to fall on top of me. I felt blood poor down my head as a strong arm reached through the rubble and pulled me out by my neck. Opening my eyes, I was face to face with the frightening man I had seen earlier. Dude obviously was an alpha male and a scary one at that. He made other alpha males look like cry baby pansies.

A voice was heard over the ringing in my ears, "Trash, what do you think you are doing? Did you think you could get away from me? You have nerve to attack me like you did."

Things were starting to go blurry, and I realized that I was losing consciousness. Raising my hands, I grabbed his arms that held me around my throat. He was impossibly strong, and there was no way I could win with brute strength at this point. I charged negative flames in my hands and held on with all the strength I had left. A distressed yell could be heard as his arms turned into blocks of ice. I was unceremoniously dropped to ground and I gasped for breath.

"Trash, what did you do to me?" was yelled in my direction.

I clung to the grass and attempted to lift myself off of the ground. I ended up swaying as I got back up onto my feet. I groaned as I wiped the blood out of my eyes and felt the pain coming from an obviously bruised neck. Thankfully the bastard hadn't crushed it.

A cracking sound was heard as I looked up to see the man charged with flames and destroying the ice. How unfortunate was it that he had Sky flames and was able to get out of that? A sizzling sound was heard as it melted and all that was left was very angry looking, frost bitten skin. I didn't have much left in me at this point. If I kept losing blood, I would have no chance left. I brought a hand to my skull and felt the area that was clearly the worst damaged on my body. I was losing way too much blood from this head wound. I charged my hand with Sun flames and knit up the skin. I didn't have enough left in me to fully heal myself, but it was good enough for now. I felt all my strength leave my body as I healed myself. I had used up all my energy stores; I was just going to have to rely on adrenaline. Once the adrenaline left, I was done. I was on full zombie mode, and I didn't know how long it would be before I went unconscious.

The man came toward me and hit me hard in the stomach. My movements were slow and shaky, but I managed to remain standing. I could hear voices around me shouting. He came at me again, and I managed to block this time. He was strong, impossibly strong. I could feel the damage I had taken just from deflecting the blow. I wasn't able to use the moves that could truly counteract and fight against him. I couldn't throw off his momentum in my slow state. Aikido was almost impossible at this point. He was able to catch me off guard and kick me off my feet. I hit the ground hard and threw up the blood that was building up from his hit to my abdomen. He bent down and picked me up by the collar of my shirt. He raised his hand back and was aiming to hit my face. As his fist came forward, a blur of silver stepped in front of me and took the blow. The man ended up dropping me on the ground. I raised my eyes and saw that Rapunzel had a nasty looking cheek and eye. Lussuria was holding the crazy man back as he began screaming.

"What do you think you are doing Squalo? Why did you get in the way?"

Squalo grunted and spit blood out his mouth from an apparently cut cheek. "You'll kill her if you keep this up," said Squalo in a deadly tone.

Lussuria was shrieking, "Calm down Xanxus! We aren't supposed to hurt her; she's one of us!"

The man named Xanxus looked down at me and shrugged off Lussuria. He grunted and then turned around. "Take her back to the mansion and get her fixed up. Make sure to watch her this time so she doesn't get away."

Rapunzel looked down at me and retracted his now ice-free sword. He bent down on the ground and reached towards me. I flinched and attempted to back away from him. "It's ok," he said in a soft voice, "don't fight anymore, and we'll take care of you". Even in my messed up state I gave him a look that said, "Clearly I should believe a kidnapper". He sighed and sat down next to me. "Look I wanted the boss to explain it to you back at the mansion. You woke up earlier than expected and ran away. We want you to work for us." He stopped and scrunched up his face and gave another sigh, "no, that's not right. We want you to work with us. We have an opening for a Cloud user and needed someone to fill the position. We heard that you were skilled and set out to find you. We wanted you to be evaluated and potentially offer you a job. That was until we found out about your other talents and that you were Tyr's apprentice. At that point, we knew that we wanted you. We tried finding you for a long time, and you kept on evading us. We knew through our intel that you had no intention of getting involved with the mafia. Xanxus ordered that we kidnap you so that you would come here, and we could work something out. It wasn't the most desirable option, but we didn't think you would come on your own."

My face clearly said, "no shit Sherlock. This is exactly why I didn't want to get involved with you psychos". Once again he sighed, "I'm sorry, but you won't be able to refuse the position. I know this isn't what you want but Xanxus has made it clear that he wants you. He may try to kill you if you leave. He has no intention of letting another organization get their hands on you."

It was my turn to sigh and groan. "So I'm not getting out of this one very easily, huh?" I said more to myself than him.

"I'm afraid not dear," said the motherly Lussuria. I gave him a nod and looked back at Squalo.

"You look like shit Rapunzel."

"I'm sure I look better than you do right now." I groaned as I clutched my stomach and turned around to throw up some more.

"Let's get back to the castle and Mama Lussuria will fix you both up".

At this point, I tentatively accepted my situation. I wasn't going to get out of this situation in this state. My best bet was to gain their trust and high tail it when the opportunity arises. "Fine," I said gruffly. Squalo stood up and bent down to pick me up. "Are you sure you can handle me, pretty boy? I'm by no means light."

"It's fine," he said as he picked me up. "You aren't supposed to be light with all that muscle." Mama Lussuria cooed as Squalo held me in his arms. Lussuria came over and wiped my face and mouth with his shirt.

"Poor dear has had such an exhausting day." The three of us went together back to the mansion.

Once we inside the mansion, or more accurately described as a castle, Lussuria took us to the infirmary. He cleaned the blood off of my face more thoroughly and gave Squalo a wet towel to do the same. He took out a box from his pocket and pushed his sun ring into the hole. A blazing peacock came out of the box and cooed as it stood looking at us.

"What the hell? Oh no, I clearly am seeing things. Shit, how bad is this concussion."

"It's alright dear, you aren't seeing things. These are our boxed weapons that work off of our flames. Each one has a unique ability. My box weapon heals people." I gave a clearly confused face. "It's alright dear; I know it is shocking to see. Why don't I explain it to you more later? I'll show you what it does." I nodded blankly at the man. "Pavone del Sereno active!" he said. A warm and tingly feeling washed over me. I noticed that I quickly was feeling better. I looked down at my hands and saw something rather shocking. My nails had become like claws and were inches longer than they were before. I looked over at Squalo and saw that he had the same thing happen to him. I also noticed that his face was healing and his already long hair was growing even longer. I felt for my own hair that reached to my mid back and felt it nearly above my hips.

"There you go," said Lussuria happily. He reached over to the counter and pulled a very strange looking nail clipper. "It's time for your nails to be trimmed." Once again I nodded dumbly. I stuck out my hands as he came over and clipped Squalo's and my nails. He gave us both a smaller nail clipper and nail file to finish styling them how we liked them. "Do you want to have your hair cut?" he asked sweetly. I shock my head "no" as he got out his scissors and a comb. "Alright then, tell me if you want it cut later on." He walked over to Squalo and wet his hair with a water bottle. He brushed out the hair and began cutting off the excess hair that had grown out from the box weapon.

"Is this a normal occurrence?" I asked shocked at what I was seeing.

"Oh, yes dear," Lussuria answered. "This always happens when I use Pavone del Sereno. That's why we keep all these supplies in the infirmary." I nodded again and began to kick back and forth watching Lussuria tend to Squalo who was sitting on the next table. I have to admit that he did a pretty good job cutting hair. "Now dear," Lussuria said as he finished with Squalo's hair, "we need to get you a shower and some fresh clothes. We also need to get you something to eat. Is there something in particular that you would like?"

"Something filling," I said as my stomach growled at the mention of food.

"It's a bit late for dinner. Would you like me to make you an early breakfast?" I nodded in response. "Alright then! Let me find you some clothes and then you can take a shower while I cook."

"Make some for me too Lussuria," interrupted Squalo. "Alright, alright Squa-chan. I know you had to have built up a large appetite. Take care of her while I go looking for things. Why don't you take her to your room? Xanxus said she can't be in room with so many windows as she was in before. He doesn't want her to escape again!~" he sang happily. Squalo grunted in reply and conceded to Lussuria's suggestion. "Let's go," said Squalo as he hopped off the table. I nodded and began to get off of my own table as held out his hand towards me. I took it and jumped down.

Squalo took us to another part of the castle on a different floor. We walked down long hallways, and I realized I would easily get lost in this place. Apparently there is such a thing as too big (did you like my double entendre?). Eventually we stopped at a door and Squalo pulled out a key. He unlocked the door and ushered me in as he turned on a light. The room was larger than the one I had been in previously. In the right corner by the window were a round oak table and a set of chairs. A dry bar sat behind it with various alcoholic drinks and crystal glasses. Further in front of the table was a set of comfy-looking chairs and a coffee table. A TV was attached to the wall in front of it. Straight across from the door was a large king-sized bed fitted with light blue and silver bedding. A large painting of a shark over looked the bed. I had to stifle a giggle at the sight of it. To the right side of the bed, in between the bed and the dry bar, was a small refrigerator. A microwave sat on top of it with various snacks. To the left of the bed was a night stand with a lamp with a large book case next to it. A door sat on the left wall diagonally across from it. More dressers and shelving units were near the door. Directly on the left of the front door was a large desk with tools and opening shelving above it. Squalo kept various swords and mechanical supplies on it. The room over all had a very bachelor vibe. It wasn't overly messy, but there wasn't much in the room that gave it personality. There weren't really any personal items or pictures that I could see on the walls. The only thing that gave it away that it was Squalo's room was the shark painting and his sword work station.

Squalo watched me as I took in his room. "Hmmmmm…." I muttered to myself.

"What is it woman?" he asked.

"I'm surprised that's all."

"Of what?" he said turning to me.

"It's neater than I expected it to be. It's a little plain, but I would rather be here than the hideously tacky room I was in before." He gave a surprised harrumph as he walked further into the room. "What snacks do you have?" I asked as I went over to the microwave and began shuffling bags. I spotted a container of cookies and began to help myself as I bent down to his fridge and stole a water bottle.

"Vooooiiii! Don't just help yourself to my things!" he shouted.

I shrugged and replied with, "Mmmmmm…. cookies". "Want one?" I asked holding out one. He swiped it and I bent back down to get him water also. I sat on his floor and began helping myself to the assortment of cookies and a banana.

"What do you think you are doing woman? You're eating my food."

"Too bad," I said as I threw the banana peel at him. "I wouldn't be eating your food in the first place if a certain someone hadn't kidnapped me. You're the one that did it, so you have to deal with the consequences. How long was I out anyway?"

"You aren't going to let this go anytime soon are you?" he questioned. I didn't even feel like responding to that. He sighed and answered, "You were out for almost a day. You weren't supposed to wake up for at least another twelve hours."

"No wonder I'm so fucking hungry," I responded as I opened a bag of parmesan crackers.

"Vooooiiii, just how much are you going to eat?"

"As much as I want. Deal with it!"

"You know Lussuria will be hurt if you don't eat his breakfast."

I paused as another cookie was about to enter my mouth. I gave an angry growl and put it back into the container. "Fine," I said. Apparently, I had good timing since I put everything away just as an excited Lussuria entered the room.

"Vooooiiiiii," yelled Squalo, "knock before you come in here!"

Lussuria totally ignored him and went over to me. "Here you are darling. I brought you a Varia uniform in your size. Unfortunately, we don't have any women's undergarments. I brought you a pair of new boxers though. Wear them if you want to."

I nodded kindly to the man and smiled. "Thank you very much."

"You are welcome dear. Go take a shower and I'll make you some food. I'll bring it up here for you." Turning to Squalo, he said in a sharp tone, "You better not do anything funny to her while I'm away".

"Vooooiiii," Squalo shrieked, "Who do you think I am?"

Lussuria narrowed his eyes and turned back towards me. "Have a nice shower dear!~" as turned towards the door and walked away.

Squalo walked towards the other door and opened it. "Come here I'll show you the bathroom." I walked over and saw another door on the left side. He opened the door. "This my closet," he said shutting it quickly. "Over here is the linen closet," he said opening another door. "Pick whatever towels you want. The toilet is over there and that's the shower and tub. The sinks are over there and that's the vanity. My hair dryer and brush are there also. Feel free to use them," he said motioning to everything.

"Alright then," I replied. He started walking out the door, and I spoke up to him. "Hey Squalo."

"Yeah," he said turning around and facing me.

"Thanks for taking that hit back there for me and defending me." A slight blush covered his cheeks and he quickly turned around.

"You're welcome," he replied shutting the door.

"_Hmmmm, that's strange,"_ I though to myself. _"It looks like he might have a little crush on me."_ I opened the shower door and turned on the water to heat it up. I then turned to the linen closet and picked out a nice fluffy set of white towels. Pretty boy could deal with it if I got some blood on them. I won't be feeling sorry for him anytime soon. As I stripped off my clothes and stepped into the shower I though to myself, _"Why does the Varia sound so familiar?" _

As I stepped out of the shower, I dried myself off with a towel and went to look at the clothes Lussuria had given me. It was slightly different than ones they had been wearing. Whereas they had tan and black uniforms, the one I was given was solid black leather. I was given a leather peacoat and pants along with a white undershirt. The Varia crest was emblazoned the chest and upper arm of the jacket. I slipped on the boxers as I sat down and began to brush out my hair. It took a good twenty minutes for me to dry my now super long hair decently. I hadn't had it this long in ten years, and I wanted to keep it for a while. I put on the leather pants and was displeased with what I saw in the mirror. They technically fit, but the cut was all wrong on me. I admit I'm a curvy girl. The skinny male cut did nothing good for me. It cut low across the widest part of my hips and hugged tightly to my thighs, relaxing slightly and then tapering at the ankle. It was bad, really bad.

I figured I would rather not wear the jacket, but I didn't have much choice at the moment. My sports bra was dirty and had blood all over it. I didn't want to put it on again. I could have used some Ace bandages to bind myself like I do when I practice with my sword, but that was an awkward conversation I didn't feel like getting into with Squalo. I slipped on the t-shirt and was thankful that it fit me fairly well. I then went to my new enemy, the heavy peacoat. I put it and buttoned it up before looking in the mirror; it was all sorts of wrong when I turned around. It was tight across my chest, baggy and billowing at the waist, and tight across the hips. Not to mention it was too long a cut for what would work on me. The sleeves were too long and the shoulders came down too low. I officially wanted to burn the outfit. With a defeated sigh, I put the dryer away and stepped back into the room.

One of the first things I noticed was a smiling Lussuria setting up the table with food he brought on a cart. It smelled good, and I was happy I was still hungry. The second thing I noticed was how good Squalo looked in his Varia uniform. He was facing the opposite direction and I could see how well it fit his butt and legs. For some reason this really pissed me off. I already felt like I was competing with him in the hair department so this further irritated me. Squalo and Lussuria turned around and apparently saw me with a very displeased face.

"Voiiii, what's with that look?" asked Squalo.

Without thinking I let it slip, "I really think I hate you".

"Vooooooiiiiiii," he yelled, "What did I do?"

Lussuria caught me looking Squalo up and down and give a large "tchhhh" sound. "Oh dear, you hate how the uniform looks on you don't you?" I gave an irritated nod. "Don't be mad at Squa-chan for looking good in his. We've all had our uniforms custom tailored and fitted to our bodies. The one I got you was a spare that our subordinates use in case of an emergency." Lussuria walked over to me and began playing with the material of uniform. He wrapped his hands around my waist and it took in the excess fabric. "It already looks better just by cinching the waist. You have an hourglass figure that won't work in these standard issued uniforms. These are made for column shaped men. I had to go larger in size because of your bust and hips, but it ended up way too big in the waist and length. I'm sorry dear, we'll have to get some made for you and pick you up some clothes in the meantime. Hopefully I can convince Xanxus to let us go shopping tomorrow." Lussuria is a woman after a girl's own heart. I think I was starting to fall for Mama Luss's charms.

"Is that what you were so upset about?" Squalo asked me.

"I'm already competing with you in the hair department. I don't need you to out shine me in leg and ass department as well." Lussuria started to laugh and Squalo looked embarrassed and slightly mortified. A much larger blush appeared on his cheeks.

"Shut up," he said softly.

"Ahhhhh, Squa-chan, she thinks you look good in your uniform."

"It makes me self conscious about myself. No man should look that good in those pants." At this point Squalo's ears turned red and he raised his hand to cover his face. Lussuria started laughing uproariously at the comment.

"Don't mind him dear, he's just a little shy that's all. He's not used to getting compliments from pretty girls."

"Really?" I said slightly shocked, "That's surprising. He's very good looking. I thought he would have women throwing themselves on him constantly."

"Oh no dear, he scares them away. He always has this angry expression that intimidates them. Add to the fact that he's overly loud and a Varia assassin and you get his lack of a love life. He just doesn't know how to talk to a woman and be romantic."

"That's so sad," I replied.

"I know it is. I've been trying to work on him for years now. He's just been too stubborn and refuses to see the problem." At this point Squalo was entirely frozen. He was wide eyed and had a vaguely panicked expression on his face. I walked over to him and put one of my hands on his shoulder in a comforting manner.

"It's ok Rapunzel, someday someone will love you as you are." That seemed to wake him up from his internal reverie.

"Vooooiiiii, don't talk about me like I'm not here. And you," he said turning to me, "don't pity me". I gave him the pitiful puppy look. Apparently, that did it and he began to bolt towards me. Squalo began chasing me around the room screaming, "Voooooooiiiiiiiii!" I found his reactions quite amusing. It looked like this would be a fun way to kill time. Poor Squalo didn't know that by falling for the bait, he was going to be permanently teased. It was when I was jumping across the bed to get away from a quickly following Squalo that the door opened. The frog headed boy stood in the entrance and gave a blank stare as Squalo grabbed me. We landed on the bed with him grabbing my waist and facing my back with both of us on our knees. Needless to say we were in a very suggestive position.

At that moment Xanxus also appeared in the doorway. "Boss," said the green haired boy. "I think Squalo's getting to know the new girl rather intimately. It's good they are getting along, huh?" Xanxus just gave us a deadly look that caused a chilly feeling to wash over me.

"Trash, what do you think you are doing?"

Squalo stammered and tried to get up only to push us down on one another. "N-nothing Boss. I was just trying to get her to come and eat."

Lussuria snickered in the background and Squalo gave him a nasty glare. Squalo finally pushed off of me and up righted himself back on his knees. Being the type of person I am, I gave frog boy a small wave and a smile. Xanxus continued to glare at us seemed displeased with my friendly display.

With a wicked smile Xanxus spoke again, "since you two get along so well, Squalo will be in charge of you from now on." Looking Squalo right in his eyes Xanxus continued, "You will be responsible for training her and making sure she doesn't escape again."

Squalo looked stunned, "But Boss, should Lussuria be in charge of her? They get along really well, and I don't know how to take care of a woman."

Xanxus's smirk seemed to get even wider. "You're the one in charge of her. You can get some help from Lussuria, but you'll need to learn how to take care of her." Squalo gave a half horrified expression.

Overall, the conversation slightly pissed me off. I didn't like being referred to like the family pet, like I needed taken care of. Xanxus's presence clearly gave off the sadistic asshole douche canoe vibe. He seemed like he couldn't take care of a house plant, let alone another human being. Clearly he was one to talk. Don't think I didn't notice the crystal glass he held in his hand that clearly smelled like liquor. Who the eff drinks at this time in the morning? That's right, an alcoholic. Clearly, I was finding more and more to dislike about him. The only sex anyone could have with this man was angry sex. I felt sorry for any woman who got trapped in his snares. He's the type that you don't leave unscathed.

I could tell I was giving him a cold stare. Nothing that could get me in trouble for insubordination but enough to let him know how I felt. We locked eyes for a moment before he huffed and walked away. Frog boy ran into the room and stole a piece of prosciutto before scampering back to the door.

"See you later Miss Cloud."

I waved bye to him as Squalo shouted, "Voooiiiii come back here with our food!" He jumped off the bed and ran after the boy. Unfazed, I got off the bed and sat next to Lussuria to eat our breakfast.

Squalo came back in the room a few minutes later looking pissed off and grumbling about that "damn kid stealing food". Personally I was too wrapped up in my plate of breakfast heaven. Lussuria had made scrambled eggs and cut up pieces of fruit and melon. He had sliced some brioche and added some cold cuts and cheese to the plate. It was more than was typically served for an Italian breakfast, but it was good. Lussuria also brought up a plate of pastries for us to munch on along with water and fresh juice. He was quickly becoming my favorite member of this organization.

After eating part of my meal, I started to become very sleepy. I started nodding off and my head was getting suspiciously close to the food. Squalo lifted my head up and pulled my chair towards him. Bleary eyed I looked at him in a daze. He pulled my plate over and started feeding me the remaining fruit and prosciutto. Gratefully, I chewed on the food with my eyes closed. Apparently, I kept falling asleep because I would wake up with my head on Squalo's shoulder. In a moment of clarity, I snuck the end of a chocolate cornetto and made a happy mewling sound. Lussuria and Squalo started laughing at me.

"You like food don't you dear?~" asked Lussuria. I nodded vigorously and thanked Lussuria for the food.

"The one good thing about working out so much is that you don't have to worry about eating too many calories. I can eat whatever I want!~" I said happily.

"You seem slightly thin dear. Are you sure you have been eating enough?" Lussuria asked.

"I've been doing more training recently, and I've been distracted. I tend to forget to eat."

"But you love food!" he exclaimed.

"I know, but it doesn't even occur to me to eat sometimes. I've gotten used to it. I usually have several different pant sizes that I keep. My shirts stay the same, but I usually go up or down a size or so in pants."

"You need to take better care of yourself. We're going to have to watch you and make sure you eat enough. Right Squa-chan?~"

"Hmmmm…" answered Squalo.

"I'm not a house pet," I started whining.

"No, you aren't. You are a human being, so we'll have to take even better care of you," Lussuria replied while stoking my hand from across the table. I felt myself puff up my cheeks and give him the irritated chipmunk look. Both of them started laughing again. "Well dear, are you finished eating? We need to get you to bed. You seem tired, and you probably still have some of that sleeping tonic in your system." I gave a nod and a small yawn.

"You can sleep in here," said Squalo. "I have to watch you anyway."

"Oh no you don't Squalo! I'm not letting her stay in here with you. You're still a hot blooded man, and I don't trust you with her. She'll be staying with me." At this point I was sleepy didn't care much either way, although I have to admit that what Lussuria was saying was probably wise.

"You're a man too," growled Squalo.

"I may have male genitalia, but I have to heart of a woman. Besides, I am not sexually interested in females. You should know that my heart belongs to Sasagawa-kun." Squalo was trying to grunt out a reply before Lussuria cut him off, "don't think I haven't noticed how you look at her. It is also in your best interest not to push things too far too soon". I barely processed what I heard as I fell back to sleep.


End file.
